[RENALDO'S TESTIMONY - Recorded before the theft]
"I left the grimoire in my library. Unlocked. Unguarded."
"It was a test, you see. To see if he would take it."
"To see if the intoxication of power had consumed him completely."
The book was ancient.
Older than the dimension. Older than ███████ himself, perhaps.
Bound in leather that seemed to shift colors in the light. Pages that whispered when turned. Words written in languages that predated speech.
███████████ stood before it in ███████'s library.
He knew he shouldn't touch it. Every instinct screamed danger.
But the Guardians had been created from his essence. Intelligent beings pulled from his very soul.
What could this grimoire teach me that I haven't already mastered?
[WARNING: The following action cannot be undone]
[Point of no return detected]
He opened it.
The pages turned themselves. Faster and faster, a blur of forbidden knowledge pouring into his mind.
Spells to raise the dead. Incantations to bind souls. Rituals to crack reality itself.
Power. Raw, terrible, intoxicating power.
His sapphire eyes began to change.
Just a flicker at first. A hint of red bleeding into the blue.
He didn't notice.
He was too busy reading.
[DATA CORRUPTION: Mental state deteriorating]
[Fragment jumps forward 6 hours]
When ████████ found him, he was still reading.
"My King? You've been in here all night. The Guardians are worried."
███████████ looked up. His eyes—no longer sapphire. No longer pure.
Red swirled through the blue like blood in water.
"I'm fine. Better than fine. I've discovered something... magnificent."
████████ stepped back, fear crossing her features for the first time since her creation.
"My King, perhaps you should rest—"
"I said I'm FINE."
The words cracked like thunder. The library shook.
And in that moment, ███████████ realized something terrifying.
He couldn't put the book down.
[RENALDO'S TESTIMONY - Recorded after the theft]
"He took it. Of course he took it."
"The test was not whether he would steal—it was whether he would survive what came next."
"I'm watching now. Let's see if my creation can withstand the corruption."
"Huh. Interesting."